Racing is life

16 ~ DNF

I run into the Ferrari garage, taking a breath as I get sheltered from the rain. Rummaging through Charles' driver room, I find his and Arthur's rain coats. They were smart and brought a coat, I wasn't smart and didn't bring one, so I'm using Charles' instead. I'm sure he won't mind.

"Hey kid, you alright?" I hear from behind me. I turn around and I'm met with Lorenzo stood in the doorway of Charles' driver room.

"Yeah, it's just a bit wet outside so I'm getting me and Arthur some rain jackets before the race starts." I say, walking towards the door with my hair dripping wet.

"Ok. Tell Arthur to get his own coat next time and to stop using you as his little slave." Lorenzo says, a smile on his face. I laugh slightly before quickly picking up Charles' wallet off the table next to his driver room door, shoving it into my pocket.

"If he finds out you've taken that, he'll have a meltdown. I took his wallet once and he spent the whole day looking for it." He laughs, nodding his head towards my pocket.

"I'm going to buy me and Arthur some ice cream or something. He's a millionaire, I'm sure he can survive loosing a few pounds." I say, walking past Lorenzo and opening the door at the back of the garage.

"If anyone asks, I didn't take his wallet." I add, raising my eyebrows at him. He nods and winks at me. I quickly put Charles' rain coat on, holding Arthur's in my hand, before opening the door and running down the paddock. It's pretty empty since it's tipping it down with rain.

I run over to the ice cream stand and they close their shutters just as I run up. It's closed. For god sake. Most of the other stands and carts are now closing because of the rain.

I walk back up the grandstand steps, getting over the barrier while the person at the bottom was shouting at some kids for messing about. Arthur looks at me, his hair dripping wet. I throw his coat at him and he catches it before putting it on and sitting down on one of the bottom steps.

I lean over the railings, the rain hammering down over my head while I wave at Charles as he gets into his car after waving back at me.

The race is about to begin, and he just got out of his car to adjust his helmet quickly. He took a film off the visor and put it in the bin. I don't know why he did that, and why he didn't just ask a mechanic to do it for him.

"Don't fall." Arthur says, grabbing my ankle as my hands start to slip against the wet metal railing. He pulls me backwards slightly, keeping me safe on the floor.

I lean against the railings, and Charles lowers himself into his car with the mechanics holding umbrellas over his head and car. As it gets closer to the start of the race, the mechanics from all the teams begin clearing off the grid. They go round for the formation lap, warming their tyres. Once they get back to the grid, they get into their starting positions.

The rumble of engines fill the air as the red lights begin to show. The lights go out and the race gets underway, Charles having a good start. He is P7, just behind Lance Stroll. I sit down on the step in front of Arthur as the cars go out of view.

They quickly come back round the track, Charles having DRS as he tries to overtake Lance. Their cars drive side by side, constantly fighting for the position as Lance begins pushing Charles towards the barriers while heading into turn one.

Charles tries to turn into the corner, but Lance cuts him off, their cars make contact as Charles spins out and hits the barrier. Gasps come from all the way down the grandstand, and people stand up to look at what happened as a loud crash echoes throughout the sheltered seating area.

It replays on the big screen in front of me, but I quickly stand up and lean over to barrier to see the pile of crushed metal surrounding Charles. Arthur stands up, leaning over me to look at what happened. I duck under his arm, and quickly run down the stairs.